2014 iMac 27" won't start

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Level 1

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2014 iMac 27" won't start

I got an iMac 27 around 2014 and it has worked perfectly for over 10 years but now I got the black screen with the "stop sign" (circle with a diagonal line in it) and the text "support.apple.com/mac/startup": I have checked the apple support page and did the "cmd+R" reboot and tried to install OSX again (unfortunately, I don't have a backup). When I try, however, it says it will install OSX 10.10 Yosemite and asks me accept the license terms after which I am asked to choose the destination disc. At his point, no disc is shown and the "install" button is grey. When I go to "disc utility" I am greeted by the following screen (picture below) and then when I click "check disc" and "repair disc", it says that the discs ar OK. Also, when I click the "start disc" symbol in the upper left hand corner (next to the apple symbol), the list of available discs is completely empty. Is the problem that my iMac is too old for the relevant OSX or what could be the problem? I love my iMac and would hate to give up on it.

Earlier Mac models

Posted on Oct 22, 2025 6:55 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

HWTech

Level 9

68,186 points

Oct 25, 2025 1:15 PM in response to guntorwe

guntorwe wrote:

Thank you for your continued assistance!

I guessed that something must have happened to the disc, as it seemed to have the same available space as total capacity. I tried and managed to re-format the disc and then the install option worked. When I got to the page where I am supposed to log in with my apple-ID, I chose the option "use different IDs for i-Cloud and iTunes and inserted the user-IDs and passwords for each. Everything seemed to work well but when I get to the point where I am to approve the license agreement, the "accept" button remains shaded and light grey. The "back" button works fine and II have tried several times with the same result, carefully checking the user-IDs and passwords and they were correct each time. What could be the reason (and the cure) for this?

You need to skip the AppleID/iCloud step during the initial setup of a new OS in order to be able to "Agree" to the terms. This has been a "known" issue for several years now. Once you finish the initial setup of the new OS, then you can log into your AppleID & iCloud.

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Answer 2

Niel

Community+ 2025

Level 10

740,783 points

Oct 22, 2025 7:45 AM in response to guntorwe

Click on the disk0s2 item and choose Repair Disk. If it doesn't find any issues, choose Mount.

If this doesn't work, erase it or run a data recovery tool on it.

(261687)

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Answer 3

guntorwe Author

Level 1

4 points

Oct 22, 2025 9:38 AM in response to Niel

Many thanks for your assistance!

I rebooted (cmd+R) again but this time, when the globe appeared on the black screen and the longish waiting period was over, it had on it an exclamation mark in a triangle and under it the text "support.apple.com/mac/startup" and under the latter the text "-2003F". Is this good or bad news (probably the latter, I suppose)

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Answer 4

guntorwe Author

Level 1

4 points

Oct 25, 2025 5:07 AM in response to Niel

Thank you for your continued assistance!

I guessed that something must have happened to the disc, as it seemed to have the same available space as total capacity. I tried and managed to re-format the disc and then the install option worked. When I got to the page where I am supposed to log in with my apple-ID, I chose the option "use different IDs for i-Cloud and iTunes and inserted the user-IDs and passwords for each. Everything seemed to work well but when I get to the point where I am to approve the license agreement, the "accept" button remains shaded and light grey. The "back" button works fine and II have tried several times with the same result, carefully checking the user-IDs and passwords and they were correct each time. What could be the reason (and the cure) for this?

Reply